U.N. to Present Iran Nuke Program Options
Key Security Council nations agreed Tuesday to present Iran with a choice of benefits or sanctions in deciding whether to suspend uranium enrichment, a move that will delay a U.N. resolution to curb Iran’s nuclear program, a European official said.
No official reply to Iranian letter: White House
The United States will make no formal written response to the surprise letter sent to President George W. Bush by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the White House said. “We’ve already given our response,” National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones told AFP on Tuesday, referring to various statements by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other US officials rejecting Monday’s letter from the Iranian leader.
Exiles in ‘Tehrangeles’ Are Split on Iran
With neon signs in Persian decorating the window of the Woodland Hills Market — “Kabob” glowing in bright red, “Iranian Market” in pea green — this corner grocery store could just as well be in Tehran as in the heart of “Tehrangeles,” as Iranians everywhere call their largest exile community.
Rice Says Iran’s Letter Not an Overture
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed a surprise letter that Iran’s president sent to President Bush on Monday, saying it did not seriously address the standoff over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
Iran’s Women Barred From Soccer Games
Iran’s women will be barred from attending soccer games, a reversal by the president that comes a month before the national team plays in the World Cup. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had ruled in April that he would allow women to go to soccer games and sit in a separate section of the stands. He wanted to “improve soccer-watching manners and promote a healthy atmosphere.”
Iranian leader’s letter to Bush could open new diplomatic tracks: Larijani
Iran’s national security supreme Ali Larijani said that a letter from the Iranian president to US President George W. Bush could break new diplomatic ground as world powers prepared to meet to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme. Speaking during a one-day visit to Turkey, Larijani also said it would be a “scandal” to haul Iran before the United Nations Security Council and urged the West to confine the nuclear dispute to the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iran letter may seek to influence UN: US intelligence chief
Iran President Mahmoud Amhadinejad’s letter to US President George W. Bush could be an attempt to influence the UN Security Council debate on Iran’s nuclear program, US intelligence czar John Negroponte said. “Bearing in mind that I haven’t read the letter … certainly one of the hypotheses you’d have to examine is whether and in what way the timing of the dispatch of that letter is connected with trying in some manner to influence the debate before the Security Council,” said Negroponte.
Iran’s Leader Writes to President Bush
Iran’s leader has written to President Bush proposing “new solutions” to their differences in the first letter from an Iranian head of state to an American president in 27 years, a government spokesman said Monday. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki delivered the letter to the Swiss ambassador on Monday, ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told The Associated Press. The Swiss Embassy in Tehran houses a U.S. interests section.
Iran Threatens to Quit Nuclear Treaty
Iran’s hard-line parliament Sunday threatened to pass legislation that would force the government to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The move, which would put Iran in company with U.N. Security Council vote to outlaw Tehran’s uranium enrichment program.
Iraq warns on Iran border moves
Iraq has expressed concern about troop build-ups by both Iranian and Turkish forces along their borders with Iraq. Outgoing Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Iran had been told of Iraqi concerns but said his country wanted to resolve any problems through dialogue. On the formation of Iraq’s new government, Mr Zebari expressed scepticism that including Sunni leaders could help to reduce violence.
